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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27945824">Pieces of Me Keep Falling Off</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbsolXGuardian/pseuds/AbsolXGuardian'>AbsolXGuardian</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Ahsoka - E. K. Johnston, Star Wars: Rebels, The Mandalorian (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(basically someone gets shot with a real gun and there's blood), Amputations/maiming, Angst, F/F, Gen, Gun Violence, Hospital Setting, New Republic era, Post-Rebels Epilogue, Relationship conflict/break up, Slightly more graphic than canon-typical violence, The Grysk, The Mandalorian Chapter 13 The Jedi, The Mandalorian prequel, The search for Ezra, Unhappy Ending, loss of alien biology limb, original worldbuilding, reference to anti-alien basis in medicine</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 23:14:46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,578</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27945824</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbsolXGuardian/pseuds/AbsolXGuardian</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>During a skirmish against the Grysk, Ahsoka Tano is injured, forcing her to examine what brought her to this point.</p><p>(Or why Ahsoka's montrals and lekkus are so short in live action)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ahsoka Tano &amp; Sabine Wren, Kaeden Larte/Ahsoka Tano</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Pieces of Me Keep Falling Off</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ahsoka Tano whipped around, sensing the pair of Grysk approaching her. She deflected the jagged orb one shot at her, before rolling to dodge the slugthrower the other one fired, she learned the hard way not to try to deflect them. Once she was up, she used the Force to pull the Grysk with the slugthrower towards her, impaling them. She tossed the corpse aside, before charging the Grysk that was still standing.</p><p>They pulled out a cortosis blade, blocking Ahsoka's first volley and bouncing the lightsabers farther back than beskar or another lightsaber would have. In her skirmishes with the Grysk, she had gotten used to fighting them, and properly accommodated for it. They clashed, her  opponent swift enough to block her second saber every time she tried to get around their guard.</p><p>Unfortunately Ahsoka was too busy focusing on keeping pace with her surprisingly skilled opponent, she didn't sense that another Grysk had entered the service room that led to the station's core. They fired at her with a slugthrower. </p><p>Crack!</p><p>The Force alerted Ahsoka, but it was too late. Pellets moved faster than blaster bolts and were much harder to see. So it was actually fortunate that she couldn't bring her lightsaber up in time.</p><p>Pain blossomed in Ahsoka's shoulder and she staggered. For all the times she had been wounded, the feeling of blood oozing down her arm was unfamiliar, as was the red stain that grew on her white cloak.</p><p>Crack!</p><p>Before she had fully comprehended the first shot, greater (physical) pain that she had ever felt coursed through her body, emanating from a point on the wider section of one of her lekku. Her entire body involuntarily twitched and a ringing in her ears filled her mind. Unknowingly, Ahsoka dropped her lightsabers. </p><p>All this took a second, and the Grysk she had been dueling took their chance after the second shot, slicing forward, bringing a brand of pain across Ahsoka's other lekku and her chest. She collapsed, involuntary twitches in her legs and hands. It was all static and instincts shouting at her to flee. Hypothetically, she could have perceived her surroundings with the Force, or even with her eyes. But she could barely focus long enough to understand anything more than pain and a bombardment of stimuli.</p><p>She only just registered the familiar sound of blaster fire before everything overwhelmed her, fading to nothing.</p><hr/><p>Ahsoka sat up, vaguely aware that she was laying in her bunk on the ship. With that little motion, the ship lurched like it was in combat with a malfunctioning inertia damper. She gripped the rim of the bunk as hard as she could, trying to remember if the ship had been damaged on their approach to the latest Wild Space outpost the Grysk had tried to occupy. Or was it damaged in the escape? Ahsoka knew she had been wounded on her approach to the station's core, trying to get there before the Grysk set it to self-destruct, it their usual fashion. Perhaps she had failed, and even Sabine's flying couldn't outpace the explosion? It had damaged the shuttle as they barely slipped away. And now they were in combat with Grysk fighters who had arrived as reinforcements.</p><p>There was another possibility, but Ahsoka struggled to consider it. Although the pain didn't threaten to overwhelm her once more, it was still there. It wasn't constant, but rather it sparked out every few seconds, interrupting Ahsoka's thoughts. And there was the dull pain of her chest that she pushed against with every breath.</p><p>Ahsoka managed to order her thoughts again and really took in the state of the room. Her cloak hung on a hook, tattered and blood stained. She still wore her usual pants, but the closest she had to a shirt was a poncho that had been draped over her. On its hanger, the cloak lay still. Various items likewise remained in their storage cubbies. Yet Ahsoka couldn't bring herself to release her iron grip, as everything except her eyes told her the ship was involved in something that involved ridiculous maneuvers.</p><p>She flinched when the door slid open. Morai swooped in, followed by a distressed Sabine.</p><p>The green convor settled onto the rim of the bed. Ahsoka managed to wrench one hand from its position to pet her friend. "It's quite the surprise to see you here, Morai. I thought we left you on Tython."</p><p>The bird chirped in response. She had the uncanny ability to appear wherever she wished, even moving through hyperspace it seemed. Although it was unusual to see her in a cramped and artificial space like the ship.</p><p>"I'm glad you're awake," Sabine said, "How's the pain?"</p><p>"Bad, but I should be able to manage," Ahsoka took inventory of her pain, "Actually I think Morai being here helps."</p><p>Sabine chuckled. "She is an amazing bird."</p><p>Ahsoka looked down to smile at her old friend. Still, the ship rocked like an old seaship in a storm, even as Sabine stood undisturbed. She looked back up at Sabine. "What happened? The last thing I remember was that Grysk wounding me with their sword."</p><p>"Well I was rushing the control room to try to stop the data wipe, when Morai showed up. She led me to where you were. You- you were bleeding a lot. I know it sounds silly given...well everything. But I'm not used to seeing blood on a battlefield."</p><p>Ahsoka nodded, although she instantly regretted it as the room warped, while remaining still in front of her eyes. She had to shut them until the disconnect faded to normal levels. But Sabine was right. It was hard to square the idea of blood with intentional violence inflicted by other sapients. It was what you saw in accidents or animal attacks. Even vibro-weapons cauterized the wounds they inflicted.</p><p>"Are you okay?" Sabine asked.</p><p>Ahsoka opened her eyes. "Oh yes, sorry. Things are just all weird, everything is spinning but it isn't. Was the ship damaged?"</p><p>Sabine looked like she was about to say something, but then reconsidered. "We made it out fine, and I didn't lose your lightsabers. As soon as I found you, Morai led me back to the ship. We jumped before the station blew, so I don't even know if the Grysk managed to self-destruct before they realized we were gone. As for everything spinning..." she paused, clearly unsure what to say. Instead she wordlessly took out her datapad and set it to the mirror feature, before passing it over to Ahsoka.</p><p>Ahsoka accepted the datapad, and held it out in front of her face. She tried to minimize the movement of her head while getting a proper look at what had happened to her. </p><p>There was a bactapatch over what she remembered as the slugthrower-wound in her right lekku. The edges were stained the red-brown color of dried blood. A mess of those same patches covered the bottom of her left lekku, which had been sheared off at the point where it began to narrow. Ahsoka carefully shifted off the poncho to uncover that the injury continued across her chest diagonally from where her lekku had been severed.</p><p>Ahsoka was vaguely aware of Sabine speaking as she tried to beat back tears. "I used the cauterizer on your chest wound, but I didn't want to risk it with your lekku. I know how nerve-dense they are. So I just put on the bacta patches. The HoloNet connection was too shaky for me to look up anything about what you're supposed to do with slugthrower wounds." Ahsoka didn't know why she wanted to cry: grief, fear, shock, or perhaps the pain had finally gotten to her.</p><p>She tried to pass whatever emotion it was back into the Force, as she had been taught. Or perhaps it would fall into the cold, quiet, and infinite hole of grief that had dwelled inside her for decades. Wherever it went, Ahsoka managed to ground herself.</p><p>"Where are we going? You mentioned we were in hyperspace."</p><p>"I charted a course back to Lothal," Sabine replied. "The medcenter should know what to do. Do you need anything, more painkillers?"</p><p>"No I'm good," Ahsoka replied, vaguely aware of how her head had begun to tilt to her left. "I can meditate through it, I just need to rest."</p><hr/><p><br/>In Ahsoka and Sabine's search for any kind of lead regarding Ezra and Thrawn (they spent a whole year checking mathematically determined possibilities and came to the harsh conclusion that Ezra had taken the Chimera into the Unknown Regions, into which they couldn't just plot a course), they had often fought the Grysk, so they were harshly familiar with their weapons and tactics. Without what seemed like a concentrated conquest of the galaxy, the New Republic<br/>ignored their incursions. They could barely bring peace to the Outer Rim, not to mention the chaos sewn by the Syndicate Wars or the Republic’s demilitarization policy. How could they care about a few attacks on Wild Space pre-hyperspace societies and independent or company owned space stations? They were regarded like the Nihil of the High Republic, and no one, not even our heroes, suspected they were anything different.</p><p>But when Ahsoka and Sabine stumbled onto a planet held hostage by the Grysk, and couldn't just turn away from such oppression right in front of them. That was when the duo discovered that the Grysk were also their best lead. The occupying force’s "client" technician was a Chiss, and in broken Sy Bisti from both parties, they learned that the Grysk came from the Unknown Regions. But between the language barrier and the Chiss' trauma, that was all they could find out.</p><p>Hence why they were now a regular nuisance to the Grysk, although their own information gathering efforts were blocked primarily by the Grysk's refusal to be taken prisoner or leave anything behind when defeated.</p><hr/><p>Ahsoka couldn't help but smile, in spite of her situation; as Kaeden, her wife, replaced Sabine's series of bacta patches with a careful application of bacta gel and antibiotic cream across her chest wound. When the shuttle had entered Lothal airspace, Sabine had gotten special permission to land near Capital City's medcenter. </p><p>Fortunately, Sabine didn't need to alert Kaeden, as the doctor had rushed up to the roof the moment she saw the ship, fretfully ushering Ahsoka onto a hover-gurney and into the room where they were now. </p><p>As for why Ahsoka wasn't in a bacta-tank right now, the brief the medcenter's HoloNet database gave Kaeden warned that in montral and lekku injuries,  treating them with bacta before proper surgery increased the risk of nerve overgrowths. Instead, Kaeden removed the bactapatches and treated the (now scabbed over) wounds with antibiotics, before covering them with untreated bandages.</p><p>"You know this is the very reason I don't like you rushing off into danger like this," Kaeden said as she worked, retreading an old argument, but with no real anger. "The war is supposed to be over."</p><p>"I know," Ahsoka replied, letting herself long for her wife in a way she couldn't permit while traveling. "I wish I could stop as well, put my lightsabers in an ornate box on the mantelpiece of the home where I slept every night. But I need to find Ezra. And do what I can to fight the Grysk.”</p><p>Kaeden smiled the best she could and kissed Ahsoka on the cheek. "That's why I love you, my Jedi knight in shining armor."</p><p>The door to the room slid open, and the 2-1B medical droid Kaeden had called into consult on Ahsoka's case entered.</p><p>"Seventy-seven," Kaeden said, cordially as she stepped to the side.</p><p>"Doctor Larte," the droid replied, accepting the datapad Kaeden had made her observations on.</p><p>Ahsoka remembered one night, a rare one that she spent on Lothal with her wife, where Kaeden explained the odd relationship between the medcenter's few doctors and their resident droid. Officially, it was the doctors who saw patients and called in the droid to perform surgery or a consultation. The latter was meant to be done in exceptional cases, primarily those that dealt with alien biology they were unfamiliar with (Core-world medical schools, even the one Kaeden attended on Alderaan, were quite anthrocentric). But there was always a tension between the two groups, at least from the organics' perspective, as seniority was unclear. </p><p>"The vestibular problems you've been experiencing," 77 addressed Ahsoka. Well organic doctors were certainly still unmatched in one aspect, bedside manner.  "Are the result of the currently unbalanced nature of your lekku. There are no prosthetics available for such limbs, however, surgery can be performed to restore the nerves as much as possible. This will result in both your lekku becoming shorter."</p><p>For the first time in a while, Ahsoka remembered Selda, Togruta who owned the cantina on Raada (died with Alderaan like most of the Raadian refugees). One of his lekku had been severed, just like hers how were. She hadn't noticed any problems with his gait, and it wasn't like he used something to stabilize himself. Had he just gotten used to it? This was the first time Ahsoka had ever heard about this kind of surgery, but she already knew why Selda didn't get it- not enough credits to fly somewhere with a medcenter and afford the procedure.</p><p>"How short?" Ahsoka asked.</p><p>"A bit less than where it was severed, as to make room for proper tapering. For balance, your montrals will also have to be shortened. They’ll probably be swept back to preserve as many nerves as possible.”</p><p>"Getting them cut off like that,” Kaeden injected, “What does that mean?"</p><p>"Well, her vertigo is the result of unbalanced cranial-sensory organs. Barring statistically insignificant complications, this surgery will cure that.” The droid addressed Ahsoka, rather than Kaeden. “Your extra-sensory capabilities will be reduced to that of an adolescent. However, due to force-users possessing similar capabilities, it is highly likely that you suffer no permanent loss. The majority of challenges experienced by patients are in the social realm."</p><p>Well that didn't sound too bad, Ahsoka reasoned. As for the social realm, although she hadn't really been raised among other Togruta, she expected it would be pretty awkward to go from looking like an adult to having the face of a teenager. She imagined such a thing could end up ruining one's romantic relationship with another Togruta. </p><p>"Are you okay with that, 'soka?" Kaeden asked, "Not that it's my place either way, but I won't mind."</p><p>“Oh of course,” Ahsoka told the droid, as present in the conversation as she could be.</p><p>"Well I know the operating room is empty for the next several hours," Kaeden now addressed the droid in a business-like manner. "So unless there's some kind of prep that needs to be done, we should be able to go into surgery now."</p><p>"On the contrary, Doctor Larte," 77 replied, "My databanks do not possess the necessary programing for the surgery. It also requires a dedicated surgical droid, in addition to a 2-1B. The only medcenter I'm aware of that is properly equipped is on Shili. In fact, this prognosis was facilitated with the information provided by one of their droids. However, ethical standards ban the transmission of procedural programs over the HoloNet, except for in immediate emergencies."</p><p>Sabine, who had been working on something on her datapad for most of the visit from the room’s companion chair, finally spoke up. "Well then it's a good thing we have our own ship. Lothal to Shili is thirty-six hours right now. Kaeden, can you be packed for the trip in an hour? We only have two bunks, so you should rent a cot rated for starship travel."</p><p>Kaeden seemed taken aback for a moment, but then nodded. "It would probably be better for me to take out a secure med-bed for Ahsoka instead."</p><p>"Understood. Well then, Seventy-Seven, you know our timetable. Talk to your friend and schedule an appointment for as soon as you can."</p><p>"Very well, Lady Wren. Since hyperspace travel is against medical advice for five days following surgery, I will also record that Doctor Laetre is taking the appropriate days off."  </p><p>Ahsoka's head swam as everything moved around her. Even with her wife holding her hand as an anchor, all of the mental noise her damaged lekku produced made it hard to stay in the moment. But she understood the plans, and approved with her silence.</p><hr/><p>A week later, in one of the Shillean medcenter’s recovery rooms, Ahsoka's doctor, a yellow skinned Togruta reviewed the results of the assisting medical droid's scan on his datapad. "Your nerves have fully regenerated," he reported. You may remove the bandages now. I'll- I'll leave you two alone."</p><p>Ahsoka hated how unnerved her doctor seemed to be about how her lekku had been shortened. You'd think that as an employee of Shili's only fully equipped medcenter, he would have long ago squared away the cognitive dissonance of seeing adult Togruta with short montrals. Instead he made such a big point to not stare at her that it was just as bad. Ahsoka guessed that this was what Seventy-Seven meant by 'social changes'. A Togruta who lived among their people would have to deal with this kind of thing from everyone she passed.</p><p>So, Ahsoka mused, it was quite the blessing that she rarely met another Togruta. Her situation was more than just living in diaspora, the life of a wandering spacer. She had vague memories of the slaver who pretended to be a Jedi, and of someone in her birth family giving Plo-Koon the headress she would wear when she was older, which she ended up having to sell after leaving the Jedi Order. As a youngling, she listened eagerly to Shaak Ti's culture lessons, but she didn't connect with them more than she did in Galactic History. If she had any "people", it was the Jedi, and even that was complicated.</p><p>The doctor and his droid left the hospital room Ahsoka had spent the last five days recovering in. As her pain meds had been tapered off, she slowly  became more cognizant. Especially of how Kaeden spent every moment she could with her wife, only leaving when Sabine dragged her off to eat and sleep.</p><p>All rooms in the medcenter, including this one, were the same sterile white as medcenters across the galaxy. But except for the operating and bacta tank rooms, as much of the walls as practical were covered with tapestries, evoking the tent-like homes of Shillean Togruta. </p><p>Broken from her reverie, Ahsoka slid off her hospital bed. Kaeden reached out a hand to steady her, but it was unnecessary. The vestibular hallucinations that left her unable to walk without assistance vanished with the surgery. And as soon as she was conscious enough, she managed to perfect replacing the  sensory input provided by her lekku and montrals with the Force instead, just as most species of Jedi did.</p><p>Ahsoka walked over to the full length mirror and began to unwrap the bandages. The bulbs of bacta had already been removed by Kaeden once they were expended (after confirming it with a nurse droid, of course).</p><p>It was wrong, all so wrong. Her doctor had shown her a simulated hologram of what she would look like afterwards, but Ahsoka now knew that it didn't really register. Nor had it when she saw her head-tails all bundled up, which she avoided touching and had their shape distorted by the bacta-bulbs.</p><p>They looked like they did when she was a teenager, before the fall of the Republic. It made it feel like these past decades had just been a bad dream. Like she could walk out of the room and see Anakin, Barriss, and the rest of her family again. That even though there was a war going on, things would be simple.</p><p>But no, even as it was the face of her past self that stared at her from the mirror, this hadn't all been a bad dream. Her montrals had been swept back in a way that they never were naturally. Small, semi-regular scars marked her lekku at the point where they rested on her shoulders. And no matter what, she would always carry the ashes of the Jedi in her heart.</p><p>"Ahsoka, are you okay?" Kaeden asked, noticing Ahsoka's expression, which was a mix between disbelief and disturbed.</p><p>"It's just shocking, that's all," replied Ahsoka, as she gingerly traced the edges of her lekku.</p><p>"Well I think it's just fine," Kaeden comforted, leaning on Ahsoka's shoulders from behind.</p><p>"I suppose," Ahsoka turned away from the mirror and ducked out of her wife's embrace. She reached under the bed and pulled out her lightsaber belt. Sabine had brought her a new shirt, a dark and sleeveless one, which she was able to wear during her stay in the medcenter. She would still need a new cloak, and one in a different size.</p><p>Kaeden sighed when she saw Ahsoka putting on her lightsaber belt. "'Soka, love, we need to talk."</p><p>Ahsoka knew about what. "I already told you, I have to do this."</p><p>"Do you really? I thought I was okay with it, but this. How can I let you leave again if something like this might happen, or worse?"</p><p>Ahsoka turned around. Kaeden had begun to cry, which stabbed into her heart. "I need to find Ezra, and not just that. There are people out there suffering. The New Republic isn't doing anything about the Grysk, but I can. Even if I only help a few people."</p><p>"The war is supposed to be over." Finally, Kaeden's fear invaded her voice. "I'm not supposed to be stuck at home waiting for you anymore. Our relationship shouldn't have to be measured in stolen moments between missions anymore, while every day I wonder if the worst has happened. For years, I thought it had.  Then you came back to me. That was the best day of my life. But you started to leave, again, like you were still Fulcrum. I can't take it anymore."</p><p>If one had measured the hours Ahsoka and Kaeden had actually spent together before they were married, it would be a whirlwind romance, even as it spanned almost twenty years. Whenever Ahsoka was able to make it back to Alderaan, where Kaeden helped the refugees settle in, and then later began to get her medical degree, they were together. But it was only for a few days, over months. And it wasn't safe for Ahsoka to send messages to Kaeden. Ahsoka came to terms with her feelings towards Kaeden, and the reticence she had about entering into a romantic relationship during her missions. But it was all so little time.</p><p>Then she was presumed KIA at the hands of Darth Vader. Ahsoka had been sustained on Malachor by her Light Within. She became more in-tune with it, unlocked her memories of what happened on Mortis and what she might truly be. She was able to reach out through the Force, observe the galaxy as life went on, unable to alert anyone. She hadn't told Kaeden, but she actually got to see her graduate and join the Rebellion. And so many other things, as war consumed the galaxy once again.</p><p>When Anakin's son found her after the war had ended, she was finally able to leave Malachor. The first thing she did was marry Kaeden in a ceremony on Chandrila. Without the isolation of Malachor, the Light Within became less clear. She began to feel normal, but that only lasted a few months. Then she was out searching for Ezra. Kaeden moved to Lothal, and it was like it had been before.</p><p>"Kaeden, I'm sorry. I just don't think I can live a life like that." What Ahsoka said, were things she had only just come to terms with. "I've never known anything other than war. I remember being a youngling at the Jedi Temple, but even then, I had a goal. I had a structured life, with a creche and lessons. On Malachor- well that was its own thing. I don't know what I'd do if I went back to Lothal with you and stayed there. I couldn't be a house-spouse, and even if I can do it, being a mechanic isn't my passion. The reason I couldn't stay with you, it isn't just because of my moral obligation. I don't know how. I'm sorry."</p><p>"Oh, so I'm not good enough for you?" Rage mixed with fear and grief inside Kaeden. Ahsoka saw it not just in her face and voice, but in the emotional aura that radiated off the woman she loved the most, and slammed into her. </p><p>"Kaeden, that isn't what I meant. It's my fault. I'm too broken. Peace isn't for me."</p><p>This mollified Kaeden. "No, I shouldn't have said that. But can't you at least try? Let Sabine and Luke Skywalker look for Ezra."</p><p>"I can't, it isn't right." Ahsoka couldn't stop herself. As tears ran down her cheeks, she strode out of the hospital room. Part of her wanted to lash out, but she had to let that go. What damage might she do then? Could she lose control of her anger and hurt Kaeden, like Anakin had? This wasn't about her, this was about everyone else.</p><p>Ahsoka knew that the ban on romantic relationships for Jedi had been created for a very specific reason. But if you went into the archives and read the philosophical treatises written by Jedi a generation or so later, they wrote about the moral obligation a Jedi had to the galaxy. If they were too connected to a single person, they might act out of fear and possessive love rather than do the right thing for everyone. If their moral clarity was in danger by their attachments, they had to leave the Order.</p><p>She may not fully believe herself to be a Jedi anymore, but Ahsoka understood the reasoning. Yet now she knew there was another reason to forbid such connections, something the Masters of old hadn't thought of. It was to avoid situations like this.</p><p>Ahsoka felt her comlink vibrate, a notice that she had an unread pre-recorded message. She unhooked the device from her belt and activated.</p><p>A hologram of Sabine appeared. "<em>I've gotten a message from Bo-Katan</em>," Sabine said, "<em>She thinks that Moff Gideon is planning something, and would like my help organizing the Coverts. She’s also learned that Morgan Elsbeth has emerged as a warlord on the planet Corvus, in Wild Space. Elsbeth was one of Count Vidian’s protegees and Chalis’ successor. But before that, she was an ally of Grand Admiral Thrawn when it came to funding the TIE Defender Program. It’s a long shot, but she might still be taking orders from Thrawn. At least it’s a better lead than chasing Grysk. I wish I could join you, but I’ve ignored my duty to Mandalore long enough. I’m at the spaceport right now.</em>”</p><p>Ahsoka turned off her comlink and sighed. Getting off Shili without stranding Kaeden would be pretty awkward, but she could manage. She’d lost everyone she’d loved before, and at least this time Kaeden would still be safe and alive. She was also glad that Sabine would leave her for a bit. She really just wanted to be alone, she had a war to get back to.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you to my amazing beta readers (all on tumblr): permian-tropos, a-kyber-star, and elianarosey.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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